Ceramic, masonry, and wood tiles have been used for many years in the construction industry. These materials are used for many reasons including strength, durability, and appearance. However, despite their numerous desirable qualities, these materials typically exhibit poor acoustic properties. Poor sound or acoustic properties are extremely undesirable in all structure, but in particular in high-rise buildings which are used as office buildings, hotels, apartments, and the like. As the occupants of one floor do not want to be disturbed from the occupants of the floor above, it is typical to add insulating material between the subfloor and the decorative tiles. In fact, standards have been developed and modified to insure that sound is not transmitted. The ASTM Impact Sound related tests are E492-90 and E 989-89. Where noise codes exist, generally IIC50 is specified. These apply to either finished floors of wood, ceramic, tile, stone, marble, vinyl, carpet, laminate, or floating floors of gypsum, lightweight concrete, mortar beds, plywood, and backer board.
While the insulating material of the prior art dampens the impact sound transmission, several disadvantages have been associated with the use of the insulating material. There are currently a variety of impact sound insulating materials which achieve the impact sound dampening required. It is typical for these materials to utilize numerous air-filled cells, such as foams, a honeycomb construction, one or more fibrous layers, or a combination of these constructions. All of these have problems associated therewith. Increased thickness associated with these materials is a significant problem. The thicker the material, the greater thickness of the floor. Moreover, the increased thickness of the floor increases the overall height required for the building, thereby significantly increasing the cost of materials and construction.
Additionally, as many of the materials are designed to reduce impact sound, the structural stability of the material is weak. In other words, the material can easily be compressed when a force is applied thereto. Consequently, while the materials described above work well in ceilings and walls, structural support must be added in order for the insulating materials to be used in flooring systems. Without the support, the tiles would crack and deform as pressure is applied. The introduction of the support layer further adds to the height requirements, resulting in greater expense.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide an insulating member which provides the acoustic properties required while providing the structural support necessary to support the tiles. It would also be beneficial to provide the properties needed while minimizing the height required for the insulating member.